Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus. Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-121529, filed Jun. 12, 2014, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Description of Related Art
An imaging apparatus such as a still-image camera or a moving-image camera generally has a moving-image function to serve as a moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus configured to record and reproduce a moving image. The moving-image function in the imaging apparatus is implemented through the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus configured within an image processing block in which image processing is performed in the imaging apparatus.
In recent years, high definition of a display device such as a television (TV) has progressed and, for example, high definition televisions (HDTVs) of a full HD (1920×1080) resolution as the high-definition improvement for TVs having a conventional video graphics array (VGA) (640×480) resolution have become the mainstream. In addition, recently, UHDTVs (ultra high definition televisions) having a higher definition such as 4K2K (3840×2160) resolution have also been commercialized. Thus, even in the moving-image function of the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus, the support for the recording and reproduction of a high-definition moving image having the 4K2K resolution or the like has progressed.
However, processing by a moving-image codec of very high specs is required to implement a function of recording or reproducing a moving image in full HD or more. Here, for example, the case in which a process for moving images at 60 frames/sec (fps) in full HD is considered to be associated with a moving image having the 4K2K resolution at a frame rate (that is, 60 fps) without change is considered. In this case, the number of pixels on which the image processing is performed in the moving image having the 4K2K resolution is four times that in the moving image in full HD. Thus, a frequency of a clock (operation clock) when the moving-image codec processes the moving image having the 4K2K resolution is also required to be a frequency four times that in full HD. Then, when a configuration in which the moving-image codec is provided in one image processing apparatus for implementing the moving-image function in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus is made, not only power consumption increases in association with an increase in the frequency of the operation clock of the moving-image codec, but also the cost increases in association with an increase in a circuit scale of the moving-image codec in this image processing apparatus.
In addition, not all moving-image recording/reproduction apparatuses support moving images having the 4K2K resolution. Thus, developing the image processing apparatus having a moving-image codec having high specs as an image processing apparatus to be mounted on the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus also leads to an increase in the cost of the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus and is not a realistic method. Because of this, a configuration corresponding to a moving image having the 4K2K resolution by mounting two (or more) image processing apparatuses, each of which divides a moving image and processes the divided moving image, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus corresponding to a moving image having the 4K2K resolution is considered.
For example, in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425, technology in which two image processing units are mounted on an imaging apparatus and the image processing units simultaneously record two moving images having different angles of view or photographing positions is disclosed. In the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425, it is possible to display moving images on one display device by superimposing simultaneously recorded moving images.
In addition, for example, in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527, technology of a display processing apparatus for dividing the entire region of one frame in a moving image into a plurality of regions and processing the plurality of regions in parallel is disclosed. In the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527, two display processing units are provided within the display processing apparatus, a region of a moving image of one frame to be displayed is divided into a left region and a right region, and the display processing units process a moving image of a left half and a moving image of a right half in parallel. Then, in the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527, the two display processing units corresponding to the regions cause the display device to which two image signals can be input in parallel to display the entire moving image of one frame by inputting processed image signals in parallel.
The moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus in which a plurality of image processing apparatuses process a high-definition moving image having the 4K2K resolution or the like by combining the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 and the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 and applying the combined technologies to the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus is considered to be capable of being implemented. For example, the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus is configured to have two image processing apparatuses including a moving-image codec corresponding to full HD. Then, a region of a moving image having the 4K2K resolution of one frame to be recorded, for example, is divided into left and right regions and the image processing apparatuses process moving images of the two regions simultaneously (in parallel). That is, one image processing apparatus provided in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus processes a left-half moving image and the other image processing apparatus processes a right-half moving image. Thereby, it is possible to record the left-half moving image and the right-half moving image in the moving image having the 4K2K resolution compressed (encoded) through the moving-image codecs provided in the image processing apparatuses simultaneously (in parallel). Then, the moving-image codec provided in each image processing apparatus causes the moving image having the 4K2K resolution to be displayed by decompressing (decoding) the moving images of the two recorded divisions in parallel and outputting the decompressed (decoded) moving images to the display device to which the two image signals can be input in parallel.
At this time, the image processing apparatus provided in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus has one moving-image codec corresponding to a resolution, for example, full HD resolution, which is smaller than the 4K2K resolution without having one moving-image codec corresponding to the moving image having the 4K2K resolution. Thus, it is possible to suppress an increase in a frequency of an operation clock of the moving-image codec provided in each image processing apparatus and suppress an increase in power consumption or cost of the image processing apparatus. Even when each image processing apparatus processes the moving image having the 4K2K resolution so as to process only one moving image of two left and right moving images into which the moving image having the 4K2K resolution is divided, that is, process a moving image of a region of ½, the frequency of the operation clock of the moving-image codec provided in each image processing apparatus becomes better at a frequency of ½ of the moving-image codec corresponding to the moving image having the 4K2K resolution.
The moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus has a function of displaying a moving image on a display device mounted on the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus as well as displaying the moving image on an external display device connectable to the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus. Here, there is, for example, a thin film transistor (TFT) liquid crystal display (LCD), an electronic view finder (EVF), or the like as the display device mounted on the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus. Also, there is an external display such as a TFT monitor or an organic electro luminescence (EL) display in addition to the above-described TV as the external display device connectable to the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus.
In this manner, there are various types of display devices having different frame rates or resolutions as the display device that displays the moving image by the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus. Thus, there is a need for support so that moving images can be displayed on various types of display devices in the moving-image function in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus. That is, a process of performing combined display on display devices having different frame rates or resolutions is required.
However, the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 enables two moving images having different view angles or photographing positions to be simultaneously recorded, but is not, for example, technology for simultaneously processing moving images having different resolutions, that is, a high-resolution moving image and a low-resolution moving image. In addition, the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 is also technology for processing moving-images of divisions in parallel, but is not, for example, technology for processing moving images having different resolutions.
For example, in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2005-184095, technology for recording a moving image at low image quality (low resolution) regularly and recording only an important scene at high image quality (high resolution) is disclosed. In the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2005-184095, it is possible to easily search for a high-resolution moving image when a moving image is reproduced at low image quality.
However, the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2005-184095 is not technology for simultaneously recording a low-resolution moving image and a high-resolution moving image. Thus, in the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2005-184095, moving images having different resolutions are configured to be displayed on the same display device according to time.
Thus, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus to which the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 and the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 are combined to be applied, a process of generating one moving image by temporarily combining moving images of divisions is performed after the moving images recorded in two divisions are decoded when the moving image recorded at high resolution is displayed on a display device which displays a low-resolution image. Then, after image processing such as a reduction process of converting each frame of one combined moving image into a resolution corresponding to a low-resolution display device is performed, each frame of a reduced moving image is displayed on the display device. That is, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus to which the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 and the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 are combined to be applied, two image processing apparatuses provided in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus are configured to operate simultaneously (in parallel) even when the moving image is displayed on the display device which displays a low-resolution image.
In addition, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus to which the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 and the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 are combined to be applied, for example, a process of combining moving images decoded by moving-image codecs within the image processing apparatuses or a process of converting the resolution is performed after an instruction for reproducing the moving image is input by a user of the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus pressing a reproduction button or the like. Thus, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus, a time required for each process becomes a delay time from when the moving-image reproduction instruction is input to when the moving image is actually displayed on the display device. At this time, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus to which the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 and the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 are combined to be applied, it is necessary to transmit and receive moving-image data between the image processing apparatuses so that the two image processing apparatuses process corresponding moving images simultaneously (in parallel) and a transmission time of the moving-image data is also added to a delay time from the input of the moving-image reproduction instruction to the display of the moving image on the display device. Thus, in the moving-image recording/reproduction apparatus to which the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2013-162425 and the technology disclosed in the publication of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2006-053527 are combined to be applied, the delay time (time lag) from the input of the moving-image reproduction instruction to the display of the moving image on the display device increases and a display response is delayed even when the low-resolution moving image is displayed on the display device.